COCAINE, NOT TASER, LED TO DEATH, INQUIRY TOLD

Family Finds Closure At Inquiry Of Man Who Died After Being Stunned

The family of a man who died after being jolted
by police with a stun gun during an arrest nearly
three years ago walked away from a fatality
inquiry Friday with a better understanding of what happened.

However, although they now know for sure Gordon
Bowe was afflicted with cocaine-induced excited
delirium syndrome, they say they still are not
totally clear about why he died on Nov. 1, 2008,
after allegedly breaking into a home.

It answered a lot of questions for me,=94 Robert
Bowe of Vancouver, the father of the deceased,
said outside court. =93I still have some doubts
about some of the things that happened, but I
don't put any blame on the police officers or
anybody else involved. Some of the procedures and
training (of police) may be inadequate when it comes to this type of thing.
=94

Robert Bowe said he still believes the use of a
stun gun should be a last resort and, if
possible, officers should avoid trying to
restrain someone in such a heightened state for as long as possible.

Let it run it's time out and if the person
doesn't survive, there=92s even more evidence to
try to help educate people,=94 he said. =93I feel
good about the outcome of this (evidence). It's
just a sad thing my son happened to be one of the very few.=94

He said it was more likely his son, in the state
he was in, was not trying to hurt anyone, but was
affected by a chemical imbalance and he was fighting for his life.

It was determined after the fact that Gordon
Bowe, 30, suffered from excited delirium and that
the stun gun deployed by the city police officer,
one of four trying to restrain him, did not play a role in his death.

The devastated father also warned all young
people that they should never take illicit drugs
even once, because they are then susceptible to excited delirium.

Dr. Christine Hall of Victoria, who has conducted
extensive research on excited delirium syndrome
for the past decade, told court it would be
beneficial to better understand the rare illness.
She added it would be beneficial if police
agencies keeping track of all such in-custody
incidents were to provide better data to herself and other researchers.

Provincial Court Judge Heather Lamoureux invited
all interested parties =AD the family, Calgary
Police Service, Taser International, Alberta
Health Services and Emergency Medical Services =AD
to provide suggested recommendations to her by Oct. 31.

She will then file a report outlining the evidence and recommendations, if a
ny.